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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

This past weekend, two of my very dear friends got hitched. It was a beautiful outdoor Oklahoma wedding full of fun and friends. Prior to their big day, I had the privilege of stealing the bride for an evening and snapping some pictures. We spent the evening in Stuart Park, just northwest of the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa. The weather, the light, and of course the bride were perfect. After mustering all my self-control not to post these before their big day, here are a few of my favorite shots from our bridal session.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Most of you know that Seth and I recently (three-ish weeks ago) bought our first house. We knew when we got married that we didn't want to rent for more than a year if possible, thanks to some good advice from Dave Ramsey. So we started saving as soon as we got married and prayed that we would find the right house when the time came along.

About 7 months into our lease we decided that we should start the house hunt. Since we were first time home buyers, it was all rainbows and butterflies at first. Looking at houses was FUN and something we filled all of our free time with. My grandma works in real estate and recommended a phenomenal agent for us who saved our lives multiple times throughout the process. She took us to look at houses several times a week and was probably about ready to block our numbers by the time we finally found the one.

By July, we had it narrowed down to 2 houses. And we were very much over the house hunting process (trust me, it loses its luster more quickly than you think). We had looked at them a couple times and gone over and over all the details on a daily basis. Basically, we couldn't decide. I was about ready to throw in the towel when one more house popped up on our listings. It was a modest, three bedroom that looked at least slightly promising. So I called our agent that night and she showed it to me the next day.

Seth couldn't get off work so I sent him a virtual tour as we went through the house (isn't technology great?). When I got home, I asked Seth what he thought. Then, out of the blue, without having even seen it, he said, "I think we should get it." I was shocked to say the least. After asking "Are you sure?" about twenty times, we called our agent and made an offer. They made a counter offer and we made several negotiations along the way, but overall things went smoothly.

Finally, after months of searching, we closed on our very first home on Monday, August 6th, 2013.

It's nothing fancy, but it's full of fun potential. And most importantly, it's now where we call home :)

The kitchen/breakfast nook with a wonderful brick arch over the stove:

The living room (with previous owner's old couch) and formal dining room:

The master bathroom with its weird tile floor and open vanity bathroom (toilet/shower to the left, closet to the right):

Two guest rooms and the guest bathroom:

Stay tuned for a plethora of DIY home improvement blogs from two clueless new homeowners!